


A Duty of Care

by PonderingTheUniverse17



Series: Love and Space Dust [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Post-Episode: s09e04 Before the Flood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 20:41:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6922630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderingTheUniverse17/pseuds/PonderingTheUniverse17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after "Before the Flood."  As the Doctor and Clara enjoy a moment of peace, a confession and realization is made.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Duty of Care

_If you love me in any way, you’ll come back._

Her legs dangled from the doors of the TARDIS as she stared at the distant Earth in front of her. The strumming sound of the electric guitar filled the TARDIS. It sounded new, nothing like she’d heard before.

 He was facing the console, eyes closed, his thoughts focused on the song he was practicing. His thoughts were on Clara, like usual. Part of him wished that she knew it was for her, but it had to be a surprise. He’d tell her someday that it was for her. Someday.

He stopped playing and let his hands fall from the strings of the guitar as he felt her arms wrap around him.

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?” he asked.

“Coming back to me,” she said. She stood on her toes to rest her head on his shoulder.

“It was nothing,” he said. “Really.”

“Not dying on me is everything!” she blurted out.

_Not with me! Die with whoever comes after me, you do not leave me!_

He tensed up, her plea still fresh in his mind.

“I’m sorry,” she said, moving away from him. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” He grabbed her arm as she started to walk away from him.

“I understand why you said it,” he said. “Why you doubted me.”

 “I don’t want to be left behind, you know,” she said. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life without you.” She turned around, her eyes avoiding his. He pulled her towards him, letting her arms wrap around him once again. The touch of his long, warm hands rubbing up and down her back soothed her.

“Clara Oswald,” he began, his voice soft and low. “You will never spend the rest of your life alone.”

She nodded against his chest, the smallest of smiles tugging at her lips. He pressed his lips to her forehead and continued down her to neck. She couldn’t suppress her giggle much longer. His hands made their way to her shoulders as she pulled away from him.

“You know, you should let me wear your specs more often,” she said.

“And why is that?” he asked.

“Because they looked good on me,” she said, fluttering her lashes. “And you got a kick out of me wearing them.”

“I did not,” he said, dropping his arms from her shoulders and folding them across his chest.

“Whatever you say,” she said as she walked towards the other side of the console. She tinkered around with a few buttons, making sure that he’d see her lips form into a pout. It took everything in her to not laugh as he walked towards her, giving her a once-over before he was no longer in her view.

His footsteps stopped behind her and she could feel his warm breath on her neck. Shivers ran up and down her spine, the sensation making it harder for her to fake her disappointment. She pressed her lips together to fight the growing smirk on her face. However, she lost the fight the moment he wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her head and tightened his hold on her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. They both had a duty to each other, she realized.

_A duty of care._


End file.
